Notes

Players:
Charles Atkins - keyboards and vocals
The Blues Boys
Larry Laseur - harmonica
Harty Wiedemann - guitar
Tom Henning - guitar
with Matt Thiebault - bass & RC - drums

Notes:
The Greatest Bluesman, Charles' tribute to BB King, is a very sweet song, wonderful performance. Another new song tonight is Since You Been Gone. Track 4 is great with Charles by himself; on track 8 the boys try to learn it and once they get it going, it just keeps going. Love the little piece beginning track 8 when Matt walks in. Charles also brings out 2 new "spirituals" while waiting for the boys to settle in. Nothing like starting the night with 4 new songs!

So the boys are cooking tonight, Matt & RC are comfortable; lots of uptempo tunes like track 11. It's got a tape break midway thru but that's cool. After Two Women, they practice the show opener. There had been many attempts at finding a way to start a show. One time we opened with the band playing and I walked Charles in from the back of the room but that sorta broke the flow of the music by the time he got settled, his cane put aside, the stool set, the mic adjusted, and me back to the board. So anyways, this show opener was supposed to go right into Everyday I Have the Blues but it drags a bit here in transition. The second try on track 20 is better altho I was late on the tape. They also repeat I Need a Break on track 21 and it's one of the best takes I've heard them do (altho it ends badly with Harty searching for the missing lick). The last stuff is somewhat interesting as Charles plays with some variations on it. Enjoy!

I believe this was Tom's last session with Charles, altho I can't say for sure he was even playing tonight, as he often stayed in the background. Anyways - thanks for the room and good times Tom, it was great!